Opposition to the Ricketts family and their bid to take over Chelsea continued ahead of the team’s game against Brentford.

A number of supporters stood in front of Stamford Bridge to protest the Chicago Cubs owners’ bid.

According to Daily Mailmore than 20,000 people have signed a petition against potential Ricketts ownership.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel was asked about the protests and showed his support for fans to make their voices heard.

“You have to face the consequences if you are responsible for these kinds of quotes,” said Tuchel. “If one of the consequences is that the fans protest, you have to deal with it.

“I hope the fans remember that we have a team playing three competitions at a crucial time in the season and that they don’t distract them when approaching the stadium or during the game. We have enough to deal with in this moment.

The quotes in question revolve around Islamophobic emails sent by the family patriarch, Joe Ricketts. The backlash saw the hashtag #NotoRicketts trending on Twitter.

Despite the backlash, the Ricketts progressed to the next round. In an attempt to defuse the situation, the Ricketts met with Chelsea stakeholders, including a meeting between Tom Ricketts and Paul Canoville, the club’s first black footballer. According to The Guardianthe meeting did not go over well with the other candidates or the Chelsea supporters, only sparking more anger.

While further meetings are planned with fans and other supporter groups, Tuchel does not plan to meet the Ricketts as he does not believe it would be helpful.

Final offers are due on April 11, with the Ricketts one of four candidates vying to take over the club from Roman Abramovich.

Click here to follow the Cubs Talk podcast.